One would imagine that having to decide to donate an organ – a part of one’s own body – must be extremely difficult. And yet, when facing this decision in reality, two Capetonians had no difficulty taking this momentous decision. Ultimately, for both people, contributing in such a meaningful way to give life to another human being trumped any fears or concerns about themselves.
Viv Anstey and Raymond Schkolne both donated a kidney to a brother – and, in both instances, the recipient brother enjoyed a completely new lease on life. And, as donors, both Viv and Raymond, now in their 60s, continue to enjoy healthy and active lives, proving that a human being can live perfectly with one kidney.
Negative impact of kidney disease
Raymond recounts that his brother, David, his junior by two years, first discovered that he had kidney disease when he was in the South African Navy in the 1970s but the impact of the illness became more severe (and life-threatening) only in recent years. David’s disease was a hereditary nephritis condition called polycystic kidney disease.
“David had begun to struggle quite a bit because of the kidney problem,” Raymond explains. “The illness was taking its toll on him physically: he really lacked energy and other parts of his body were being affected by the disease. Over and above that, his daily life was negatively affected because of the many hours spent travelling to and from the dialysis centre a few times a week, as well as the time spent actually having the dialysis.”
In addition, this was all happening in Israel during its state of war, which caused real practical difficulties, such as having to go elsewhere for dialysis at one point because of the need for a safe room close by. “Because of this, the other facility had a far greater influx of patients, and David was only able to have three hours of dialysis, instead of four, and this was further affecting his condition,” Raymond explains.
The donor’s experience
A kidney donor has to undergo a massive number of tests before being okayed for the donation. The donor must be deemed healthy enough to undergo the physical toll of the surgery and recovery involved. For Raymond, this was the most difficult part of the whole process. “I have always been terrified of anything to do with blood,” he explains, ”and I had so many blood tests in the early phase that I wasn’t sure I would cope with things!”
The tests involved a two-part process. Firstly, a set of tests at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town that Beilinson Medical Centre required. Once those were passed there were many subsequent tests conducted at Beilinson. A legal requirement in Israel for anyone living elsewhere to donate an organ to an Israeli citizen is that a panel of experts at the Ministry of Health in Israel must thoroughly check that the donor understands the risks and is not receiving payment for the kidney donation. So, Raymond had to appear before a panel of seven experts, including medical personnel, a social worker, a psychologist, and a lawyer, among others.
The surgery was done at Beilinson Medical Centre. The Renal Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town co-operated throughout”. Raymond praises both facilities for their knowledge, support and care, a sentiment endorsed by Viv. She comments: “Groote Schuur was world-class, and all our tests were accepted by the Israeli team at Beilinson Hospital where we did the transplant.”
In both instances, the surgery was conducted in Israel because the recipients live(d) there. This was largely because of health insurance issues. Obviously, all the tests and the surgeries are costly exercises, and the Israeli health insurance covered the costs for both recipient and donor.
David received the kidney from Raymond in October last year. “The operation was a huge success,” Raymond explains. “The kidney started functioning in David’s body immediately. David’s dangerously high blood pressure and creatinine levels went down, and today he is doing well.” While David will have to take medication for the rest of his life, both his overall health and the quality of life he is able to enjoy are not at all comparable with what he had been experiencing.
Advice to others
Both Raymond and Viv encourage others to donate a kidney. While there are risks involved, if a loved one or a good friend is suffering from kidney disease, this donation can potentially add many years of quality life to the person without harming the donor. Viv feels that one should, ideally, donate the kidney as early on in the process as possible, ideally before the recipient needs dialysis. ●
What does Jewish religious law say about organ donation? See the useful information and guidance here, or on page 28 on the Digital Edition.
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